Story 1 vs Story 2: Stop or Go

Story #1

Al knows the statistic…you are more likely to die in the car on your way to the airport than you are flying in the plane. But for a nervous flyer, knowing that doesn’t really help. In 24 hours he is supposed to board a plane to travel across the country with his son and 2 grand kids. All this, less than 5 days after a devastating plane crash overseas. Why did it have to happen this week? He was already nervous and the non-stop news coverage doesn’t calm his fears. Al has never heard of the band The Clash, but you wouldn’t know it based on how much the question “should I stay or should I go?” has been bouncing around in his head. He wants to join his family but just doesn’t want to get on that plane. After going back and forth, and back and forth some more, he decides to go.

Story #2

As the old saying goes, “when the going get’s tough, the tough get going.” Brock likes to think of himself as tough, except when the going is by plane. He is a nervous flyer. Just thinking about flying makes him want to tape his finger nails so that he doesn’t chomp them down to the bone. He is not sure what he was thinking when agreed to join his son and 2 grand kids on a vacation to the other side of the country. Sure, he loves his family, but he doesn’t love flying. Sure, he would have fun once they got off the plane, but being on that plane is enough to make him reconsider. And reconsider he has. As he looks at his computer screen, he has two options. Print the boarding pass or cancel the reservation. He clicks cancel and calls his son to let him know.

Story #1 vs. Story #2

Al & Brock are not alone in their fear of flying. Many people have that fear. But for the purposes of this post, the fear could be anything. Fear of public speaking. Fear of attention. Fear of bears. The point is that when were are faced with fear we have two choices: stop or go. Al chose to go and is likely going to have an awesome trip. Brock chose to stop and he is likely to regret it when his grand kids tell him about all the fun they had.

Two similar stories. Two different choices lead to different outcomes.